Barry,

Thanks for reading and good comments. I am in Nashville doing what I do because of a phenomenon I saw happening in the 90's. I grew up with the songs of the EAGLES, RAY CHARLES, MOTOWN, CROSBY STILLS NASH, THE CALIFORNIA movement, even heavy rock of BOSTON, STYXX, KISS, and pretty much an amazing selection of music. I had a lot of music history and always studied songs of the past, THE BEATLES, STONES, etc. it was always MELODY that had me. Lyrics were an afterthought. But at that same time, I listened to JOHNNY CASH, MARTY ROBBINS, GEORGE JONES, OAK RIDGE BOYS, KENNY ROGERS and other things that were happening in country music. Actually my Band, 24 KARAT used to give me hell for listening to that "SAD OLD COUNTRY CRAP!"

The main years of our band was in the 80's, along with LOVERBOY, JOURNEY, REO SPEEDWAGON, etc. Doing original material based around that. We were quite successful for a while in the mid 80's,winning a National battle of the bands, being played on the radio, performing around the southeast. When the band broke up in 1986, I tried to bring the music forward, but the day of that type of music ended in rock and pop.
It got decidedly angrier and actually ATONAL. With the Seattle grunge movement, it was as if the pendulum swung WAY to the other side with people going AWAY from anything that had a melody. And if it had a melody it was pissed off about something. Minor chords were seemingly all anyone could play anymore. When the rap, hip hop, scene came in, with rapid fire lyrics, no melody at all, again, very angry lyrics, debasement of women, rampant sampling of existing songs, etc. that was it for me. I didn't leave rock. It left me.

At the same time, in Country, with groups like EXILE, ALABAMA, singers like Lee Greenwood, and later T. Graham Brown, Delbert McClinton, etc. it was the exact opposite. Those songs, which had always been negative and downer lyrics, turned positive. It was a party, up tempo, stage shows got bigger and more elaborate, and I was hooked. Meeting someone who had lived in Nashville for ten years and had success in the industry, pushed me to PAY him, for his experience. That is how I got to Nashville.

Now. the "ATONAL" aspect of music is everywhere. Country is far from it's pure roots. Everything sounds very similar, and the follow the leader mentality is everywhere. And much of it is not worth following in the first place. It is like the cassette days, where you would make dub after dub, with the quality diminishing with each successive generation. It doesn't help when the hit makers of today have emulated the really bad music of yesterday. Yet that is what it is.

But in my opinion, there are always breakouts. There are people who still ring true, who still grab me. In country, Maren Morris, Eric Church, Zac Brown, Chris Stapleton, and others still have that special extra. I have just been watching FOX AND FRIENDS this morning and one of my friends, PHIL VASSAR, was on for an hour performing for the USO and military people in the audience. That is where my heart is.

I can't tell you where music is going or what is going to happen in this business. In many ways, it is the BEST OF TIMES and the WORST OF TIMES. But there will always be emergence, always be people that break through. And we all will do our best to stay involved. I would not get too caught up in awards shows or the "trend of the moment." I would immerse myself in things I like, be aware of the others, don't follow the leader and try to find my own voice.

That is about all that you can do.

MAB